Toppling the statue of Saddam Hussein

Toppling the statue of Saddam Hussein was a staged event, by U.S. soldiers, for the media. A Reuters long-shot of Firdos Square where the statue was located (see below) shows that the Square was nearly empty when Saddam was torn down. The Square was sealed off by the U.S. military. The 200 people milling about were U.S. Marines, international press and Iraqis. However, the media portrayed it as an event of the Iraqi people.

An American military vehicle actually pulled down the statue. Marine Corporal Ed Chin, who temporarily placed a U.S. flag over Saddam's face, became an instant media celebrity. His sister, Connie, appeared on the "Today" show and spoke with her brother via a video hook-up.

External links

• http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2838.htm
• http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2842.htm
• http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/04/1598451_comment.php
• "Pentagon Gets PR Bulls-eye," O'Dwyer's PR Daily, April 11, 2003.
• "Saddam Toppled," a BBC photo sequence, also makes it possible to see the sparse crowd. Another photo sequence, taken a few days later, shows a much larger crowd demanding that U.S.-led troops leave.
• "Toppling Saddam," a photo sequence by the Boston Globe, includes photos that show the empty square as tanks roll in to set up the event. An accompanying story states, "Yesterday's coverage of the 'jubilation' also had a self-conscious and forced quality, as if the media were too eager to capture 'liberation' for its daily news cycle. Whenever the cameras pulled back, they revealed a relatively small crowd at the statue."
• "Pictures with description," Polish language, pointing out the standard size American sledge hammer used by Iraqi man, apparently supplied from army standard issue for the occasion.
• "La fin de quelle guerre ?," the "statue episode" analysed in French by Réseau Voltaire.
• http://editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000562754